Dispensing scoop



July 2, 1957 A. GORDON 2,797,654

DISPENSING SCOOP 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 21, 1955 IN V EN TOR. fl/yn/o/ry 60 900 July 2, 1957 A. GORDON DISPENSING scoop Filed June 21, 195s 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. A /v n/o/vy 60/900 BY WW4 W, W M M Uit 2,797,654 Fatented July 2, 1957 DISPENSING SCOOP Application June 21, 1955, Serial No. 516,827

2 Claims. (Cl. 10748) New York, N. Y.,- assignor, by 1119185116 A,

The present invention relates to an improved scoop for the dispensing of solid or plastic masses. More particularly, it relates to a scoop for dispensing of foodstuffs such as ice cream, mashed potatoes, desserts and the like, whichscoo'p may be reliably operated with but'one hand.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a novel scoop of the class described which is inexpensive to manufacture in that several of the elements are formed from a single metal blank.

A further object of the invention is to provide a dispensing scoop which may be readily assembly and disassembled so that it may be cleaned or repaired.

Another object of the invention is to provide a scoop of the class described including an integral finger grip serving to retain the fingers of an operator in comfortable and proper position while avoiding contact of such fingers with the moving parts of the mechanism.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a simplified scoop dispenser composed of but few parts and capable of rugged use.

These and other objects and advantages will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of a scoop produced in accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a vertical section of the scoop taken along line 22 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a vertical section taken along line 33 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a vertical section taken along line 44 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is an exploded perspective view of the scoop of Fig. 1;

Fig. 6 is a plan view of a blank for forming the spacer of the scoop;

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary perspective view of the scoop showing the manner of disassemoly; and

Fig. 8 is a lateral elevational view of the pivot post before assembly.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, in Fig. 5 there is shown a cup 11 corresponding to slightly more than half a sphere. A hole 12 is provided at one of the poles of the cup 11 and at the other pole the material of the cup is pushed outwardly to form a collar 13 surrounding an aperture 14. A blade 15, provided at one end with a knob 16 and at the other end with a fiat lug 17, seats in the cup 11 with the knob 16 extending through hole 12 and lug 17 extending through aperture 14. As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, a spacer 18 is welded or otherwise secured to the cup 11 by means of a flange 19, and remote from the cup is provided with an opening 20 which receives a threaded bolt 21 serving to connect a handle 22 to the spacer. A hanging ring 23 is provided on the handle 22 to facilitate mounting of the scoop on a wall bracket or the like.

Turning now to Fig. 6, the spacer 18 is formed from a blank 18 which includes a body portion 24 provided with score lines 25, Wings 26', semi-circular cut-outs 27 and opening 28. To the lower end of the body portion 24 an arcuate section 19 is connected, and to the top of the body portion 24, portion 29 is connected, the latter including openings 20 and 30.

The blank 13' is folded as shown in Fig. 5 to form spacer 18 which includes flange 19, body 24 having score lines 25, reinforcement 26 and hole 27. The score lines 25 facilitate shaping of the flat portion 24 into curved body portion 24. The end of the spacer further includes curved finger guard 29 which is reinforced by elements 26.

In manufacturing the scoop, a pivot post 31 is inserted through hole 27 so that the nipple 32 of the pivot post extends through opening 28 and is then hammered to form rivet head 33. As seen more clearly in Fig. 8, the pivot post 31 includes a shoulder 34 on which portion 35 provided with neck 36 is disposed. A coiled spring 37 rests on shoulder 34of pivot post 31 about portion 35 with one end of the spring seating within the hollow of body 24 (Figs. 2 and 3). An operating segment 38 is provided with a slot 39 and a downwardly projecting lateral thumb rest 40. Slot 39 passes over neck 36 of the pivot post and is thus prevented from vertical movement, while the other end of spring 37 bears against the inside of thumb rest 40. In this manner both the spring 37 and the segment 38 are prevented from vertical displacement with respect to the neck 36 of the pivot post 31, while pivotal movement of the segment about the pivot post in clockwise direction as seen in Fig. 1 may be effected against the action of the spring. The segment 38 is further provided with a downwardly turned 'lip 41 and with a plurality of eyes 42, said eyes being arranged in radially outwardly opposed relation to and uniformly spaced apart circumferentially on' an arc concentric with the closed end of the slot 39 engaging the pivot post 31. The last eye 43 is elongated somewhat toward the pivot post for a purpose hereinafter to be described. The lip 41 presents an arcuate bearing or edge portion with which the surface of the spacer or shank body portion 24 opposite thereto is engageable to assist in maintaining the path of the segment at a selected minimum distance from said body portion 24'.

A shaft 44 extends between opening 30 and opening 14, substantially perpendicular to the axis of post 31, and includes a bifurcated end 45 in which lug 17 is engaged. The other end of the shaft 44 is keyed at 46 or otherwise rendered non-circular to receive a disc 47 provided over a portion of its periphery with teeth 48. The disk 47 has a force fit on the non-circular portion 46 of the shaft 44, or is otherwise fixedly secured thereto, to provide a rigid assembly therewith. The teeth 48 are so positioned that upon moving the thumb rest 49, the teeth successively engage in the eyes 42. When the last tooth arrives in eye 43, the untoothed portion of the disc 47 prevents further rotation of the thumb rest, such rotation simultaneously being limited by the adjacent portion of the body 24, the finger guard 29 and the handle 22. The maximum angular displacement of the segment 38 is limited in the opposite direction as well by means of the untoothed portion of the disc 47.

Assembly of the device is effected as follows:

After shaping of the spacer 18 and joinder of the pivot post 31 thereto byforming rivet head 33, one end of spring 37 is inserted into the hollow body 24 through hole 27. The spring then surrounds portion 35 of the pivot post.

The spacer 18 is then welded or otherwise secured to cup 11 through flange 19, the handle 22 being attached to the spacer 18 through engagement of bolt 21 with opening 20 either before or after welding of the cup and spacer. Slot 39 of segment 38 is then slid about neck 36 of the pivot post, care being taken to catch the free end of spring 37 by the thumb rest 40 as shown in Fig. 1. With the segment in its maximum counterclockwise position, the open end of the slot 39 faces in such a direction as to allow the segment to move toward and away from a position in which the pivot post 31 is insertable in the slot 39 in a path at an angle to the longitudinal axis of the shank or spacer suflicient to avoid any obstruction at the lip 41 of the segment by the reinforcement element 26 and the extension of the shank or spacer containing the opening 28. The shaft 44 is then aligned with collar 13 and aperture 14, and bifurcated end 45 is then passed through aperture 14, the shaft then being tilted slightly upwardly to permit manipulation of the segment 38. The segment is then pivoted about post 31 by means of thumb rest 40 against the action of spring 37 until eye 43 is aligned with aperture 14 and opening 30, i. e., extends substantially parallel to the shaft. The last tooth 48 on disc 47 is then lowered into eye 43, seating in that portion of the eye which is elongated beyond eyes 42.

'Because of this elongated portion it is possible to lower the shaft to a position of alignment with opening 30, and the shaft is then moved toward the handle until it seats in opening 30, the last tooth moving along elongated hole 43. Upon releasing the thumb rest 40 the spring 37 causes the segment to return to the position shown in Fig. 1. Because the eyes 42 are not elongated, and because of the fixed relation of tooth disk 47 on the shaft 44, it is not possible to withdraw the shaft 44 from its position. The assembly is completed by inserting flat lug 17 into the bifurcation of shaft end 45, and plate 15 is resiliently flexed so that knob 16 engaged against the opposite wall portion of cup 11. Knob 16 is then moved along the wall of the cup until it reaches hole 12 and projects therethrough to lock the blade in position.

In operation, the fingers of the hand encircle the handle 22 and abut against the rearwardly curved finger guard 29 so that they are prevented from slipping and being injured. The substance, such as ice cream, is then scooped out and by pressing on the thumb rest 40 against the action of spring 37, the material is dispensed. The dispensing is caused by pivoting of segment 38 which through engagement of eyes 42 and teeth 48 causes shaft 44 to rotate together with blade 15. This rotation of blade 15 erves to scrape the bottom of the cup 11 and thus dislodge the material from the cup.

As pointed out, it is the elongation of eye 43 which permits disassembly of the scoop in spite of the fact the shaft 44 extends between opening 30 and aperture 14, the latter two being maintained a fixed distance from each other due to the fact that the spacer is integral with the finger guard 29 in which opening 30 is formed. Such disassembly permits ready cleaning and sterilizing of the scoop and indicates the facility of the initial assembly. The slot 39 in the segment 38 which cooperates with the neck 36 of the pivot post 31 also facilitates assembly and disassembly.

The rearward curvature of the finger guard 29 provides a comfortable abutment for the fingers which grasp the handle. This abutment also prevents slipping of the fingers toward the working mechanism and thus also acts as a safety device. The reinforcement 26 prevents the finger guard 29 from bending toward the cup which would complicate disassembly while the handle 22 prevents rearward canting of the finger guard.

Collar 13 on the cup 11 facilitates entry of the bifurcated end 45 of the shaft 44 and permits a certain amount of longitudinal play by the shaft without fear of accidental disassembly. This permissible play reduces the cost of manufacture due to the fact that the tolerances need not be so exacting while nonetheless satisfactory operation in ensured. Because the collar 13 is struck out of the cup itself no separate joining operation is required, representing an additional economy in manufacture.

Since the entire spacer 18 together with the flange 19 and the guard 29 are integral welding or riveting is held to a minimum and the need for painstaking alignments to permit assembly are avoided.

All of the parts with the exception of the handle 22 will generally be made of metal such as stainless steel or aluminum which can readily be cleaned and which are resistant to attack by foods in normal usage. Where desired, however, certain of the parts may be made of plastic or other suitable material.

Various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention and it is intended that such obvious changes and modifications be embraced by the annexed claims.

I claim:

1. A dispensing scoop comprising in combination a cup, a shank projecting from said cup and a handle secured to the projecting end of said shank, said shank having an extension at its handleward end, a shaft having first and second ends, bearings for supporting said shaft for rotation about its longitudinal axis in spaced relation to and lengthwise of the shank including an opening in the wall of the cup in which the first end of the shaft is supported, and an opening in the shank extension in which the second end of the shaft is supported, said openings being sufficiently larger than the cross-sectional dimension of the shaft to enable the latter to be tilted about said openings in the cup when the shaft is removed from the opening in the shank extension, a pivot post projecting from said shank in perpendicular relation to the axis of rotation of the shaft, said post having a reduced neck portion in inwardly spaced relation to its projecting end, an operating segment, means for mounting said segment for rotational movement about said post as an axis including a slot extending inwardly from one edge of the segment in which slot the reduced neck portion has sliding fit, said slot opening in a direction to accommodate movement of the segment relative to the post in opposite transaxial directions to effect assembly and disassembly of said segment from said post when the segment is in a selected rotated position about said post, a series of eyes formed in said segment arranged in radially outwardly opposed relation to and spaced apart circumferentially on an arc concentric with the closed end of the slot in the segment, a gear fixed to said shaft having teeth with which said eyes in the segment have meshing relation when the shaft is operatively supported in said bearings whereby said shaft is rotated in response to rotational movement of the segment, means on said gear with which the surfaces of the segment about certain of said eyes cooperate to limit rotation of the shaft and segment between advanced and retracted positions within an are short of the rotated position of the segment needed to position the slot in a direction to effect disassembly of the segment from the post, a flexible blade arranged Within said cup having one end thereof connected to the first end of theshaft and the other end of the blade journalled in a second opening in the wall of the cup opposite the opening in the wall of the cup containing the first end of the shaft, each of said eyes in the segment except the eye engaged by the gear when the segment is in advanced rotated position having such engagement with the surfaces of the teeth facing radially as to trap the shaft against axial movement and removal from a supported position in said bearings, said last named eye having its edge opposite the surface of the cooperating tooth facing the slot offset from the corresponding edge of the other eyes in the direction of the slot a distance suflicient to accommodate movement of the shaft toward the cup to effect removal of the shaft from the opening in the shank extension and subsequent tilting of the shaft about said opening in the cup to free the teeth of the gear from engagement with the eyes of the segment and thereby free the segment for movement to said selected rotated position for effecting disassembly of the segment from the post, and a spring operable to bias the segment toward said selected rotated position.

2. A dispensing scoop in accordance with claim 1 wherein the connection between the blade and the shaft includes an axially extending slot in the shaft in which the cooperating end portion of the blade has sliding fit.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Palmer Sept. 17, I Flegel Oct. 27, Cox June 14, Geske Jan. 31, Donahue Apr. 25, Bloomfield Feb. 21,

FOREIGN PATENTS Great Britain Apr. 30, 

